This invention relates to lifting devices for watercraft, more particularly, to a lift for personal watercraft that is pivotally attached to a mooring piling above the surface of the water which allows the watercraft to be lowered into the water for use and then raised from the water and pivoted onto a dock for mounting, demounting storage and servicing.
All watercraft owners know it is desirable that watercraft be stored out of the water to prevent defiling by barnacles, algae, and other waterborn plants and animals, as such requires expensive and time-consuming periodic cleaning of the bottom surfaces of the watercraft. Although there are watercraft lifts available to raise and store watercraft out of the water, many such lifts are at least partially submerged in water, which leads to defiling of the lift by aquatic plants and animals and shortens the life of the lift. Also, many prior lifts only lift the watercraft out of the water, but do not store it in an easily accessible position for cleaning, maintenance, and mounting or demounting during use. Furthermore, many such lifts require that the watercraft be elevated out of the water by manual means. However, as personal watercrafts often weigh an excess of 750 pounds, it is difficult to lift them without motorized means.
Thus, there is a need for a watercraft lift that will address the above problems. The relevant prior art includes the following references:
Patent No.InventorIssue/Publication Date(U.S. unless stated otherwise)5,749,313Shackelford, Jr.May 12, 19981,695,674WilsonDec. 18, 19282,808,016JamotOct. 1, 19572,990,803HendersonJul. 4, 19612,979,014YordiApr. 11, 19613,060,885NolfOct. 30, 19623,177,839NolfApr. 13, 19653,830,452SeayAug. 20, 19745,014,638Ilves et al.May 14, 19915,301,628DaskalidesApr. 12, 1994GB 588,394Lamb et al.May 21, 1947
Of the above patents only the Shackelford Jr., patent provides some of the advantages of the present invention. However, the present invention, contrary to the Shackelford, Jr., patent differs as it utilizes two separate brackets rather than a tubular housing, has fewer moving parts and is motorized.